Stilfontein Mine
27 minors repatriated repatriated after being apprehended by police for their involvement in illegal mining activities in the Stilfontein area.
(The Post News)- In recent developments on illegal mining in South Africa, twenty-seven Mozambican teenage boys are being repatriated after being apprehended by police for their involvement in illegal mining activities in the Stilfontein area. This situation raises urgent concerns regarding the intersection of illegal mining and human trafficking.
The undocumented minors were located across various sites, with 15 found in Matlosana and the remaining 12 retrieved from the Stilfontein mine, where numerous illegal miners had been hiding underground to evade authorities. The North West Social Development Department confirmed these details, emphasizing that all boys were engaged in illegal operations and have now been placed under temporary safe care.
Spokesperson Petrus Siko highlighted that these children faced immediate danger due to their illegal activities. “Following the Children’s Act, social workers or police must intervene when minors are exposed to harm, ensuring they are placed in temporary safe care,” Siko asserted. He also confirmed that the boys would be repatriated to Mozambique under police escort.
The social development team worked diligently, securing a court order to release the children from temporary care. On Tuesday at midnight, social workers commenced the journey to the Lebombo border for the boys’ reunion with their families in Mozambique. The Mozambican consulate promptly provided the minors with temporary travel documents, facilitating the repatriation through a coordinated care-to-care collaboration between the social services of both nations, bolstered by the International Social Workers Services.
North West social development MEC Basetsana Sussana Dantjie expressed her gratitude to the team and stakeholders for their rapid response in ensuring the children’s safety and repatriation. “We commend all stakeholders who stepped forward to play a vital role in safeguarding these children. We are especially thankful to the Mozambican consulate for their expedited involvement in this repatriation process,” Dantjie stated.
This case starkly illustrates the growing trend of minors being exploited in illegal mining, often trafficked across borders and coerced into dangerous labour conditions. The Stilfontein mine, previously a known hub for illegal mining, is increasingly becoming a focal point for human trafficking. Experts are sounding the alarm that minors from impoverished backgrounds are particularly susceptible to exploitation by traffickers offering misleading promises of work and money.
As authorities intensify their efforts to dismantle illegal mining operations in the region, the social development department is committed to providing similar care and repatriation services to any other minors who may emerge from the abandoned mines. The department is firmly dedicated to protecting vulnerable children from the dual threats of illegal mining and trafficking, with definitive plans in place to assist any additional minors who may surface from the Stilfontein mines.
This repatriation underscores the grave dangers and exploitation faced by minors involved in illegal mining in South Africa. Authorities are taking decisive action to combat child labour in these perilous environments.
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